Broken
by Kootie Bomb
Summary: Her family fell apart. Temari pays her respects.


She winced as a breeze swept by. It wasn't a cool, Konoha breeze, or a damp, Ame breeze. Not even a simple mountain breeze. It was a helpless, hot wind that picked up sand, which she had to rub out of her eyes. The Land of Wind was never a lovely vacationing spot. There was nothing lovely about it.

She sucked in a breath, walking down the line of cold, engraved stones. Searching. Searching for the right one.

Her bare feet left tracks in the sand. Tracks that were quickly covered up from the ever-shifting sand. That was a good thing, though. She didn't want anyone to follow her. She didn't want anyone to know she was there.

Her mother's tombstone was slightly bigger than the others, with a better cut. Smoother, better taken care of.

That's because of her, of course. With every visit, she would take a well-sharpened kunai with her, and cut out the imperfections along the edges of the stone, caused by easy erosion. Her mother only deserved the best.

She stood in front of the grave, feet and legs locked together - for once, not in a battle stance. Her arms hung limply by her sides - a fresh sand flower and a senbon needle in one hand, the kunai in the other. Her hair, held up in it's usual style, bristled in the grit wind. She swallowed, dropping to her knees.

"I know," She started, placing the kunai and senbon down, choosing to hold the flower between her fingers, "it's been a long time. Three months, since my last visit. So..." She frowned, subconciously reading the words engraved on the stone, "I'm sorry for that. I don't know if anyone else has come to see you."

She looked down, "Kankuro refuses to pay you a visit. He hasn't come here in over two years, by now." Again, she swallowed, to keep the tears away, "But, putting that aside, he's quite well. His puppet jutsu has been improving. The Corps have sent him letters. They want him aboard. And..." She adjusted herself, "he definitely deserves it. And he's been smiling more."

Her light eyes glanced around, at the other graves. The lonely, cold stones erected in another's honor. Some had flowers in front of them, others had needles. Some were bare, save for the small name weakly carved into it. She looked back to her mother.

"And...he has been changing his Kabuki face much more often. To more happier images. He keeps the color purple, though. You picked out the purple, didn't you?"

She was stalling.

_What about Gaara_?

...

...

She sat in silence. She sat, quiet. By the time she spoke up, the sun had moved noticibly lower from the sky. The air became fridgid. She didn't shiver, though. She felt quite numb. Numb. A feeling she had become accustomed to.

"Gaara is fine."

Her head lowered.

"He is doing just fine."

...

Slowly, she picked up the sand flower from her lap, placing it in front of her mother's grave, and gently slid the senbon needle through the stem to keep it into place. She brushed the kunai knife around the simply shaped stone, giving it a smooth surface.

She got to her feet, watching her mother's grave. Staring at it intently, wishing for something improbable to happen. Like...her mother rising from the dead, smiling at her like she used to. Or her father becoming a decent man, like he used to be. Just...just something

But that would never happen. Her family fell apart, and is now cracked and broken.

She allowed several, silent tears to fall down her cheeks, placing a hand over her mouth to prevent full-out sobs. She can not cry. She isn't supposed to.

"...Temari."

She spun around, suddenly alert, her tears quickly brushed away. Her youngest brother stood behind her, face emotionless, and eyes vacant. As usual. His red hair remained unkempt and uncared for, with those dark lines forming the symbol on his head...he held no expression, and yet he looked somewhat...helpless. Sad.

Another breeze whistled by. A cold one that provided nothing close to comfort.

Temari of the Sand stared at the cause of her mother's death before slowly making her way back to her home.

This was not the time for tears.

* * *

**I feel like I haven't written anything in ages. Which...well, I sort of haven't. So, here's a nice lil' oneshot for ya. I've always liked Temari. When you don't count the Konoha kunoichi, she's definitely my fav female ninja. And I feel bad for her. She's the oldest of the Sand Sibs, and probably knew their mother the best...**

**And...I don't know if Gaara's mother has a grave. I'm just guessing she does. If the anime or manga ever said she didn't, then...er, sorry o.O**


End file.
